FOA: Pravin’s Reflection

The Thwarting of Baron Bolligrew was a British Play written by Robert Bolt. This year, ACSIS & ACDC did a combined performance and made the play their own. Time, effort and money were spent on making the play one of the best plays in ACS history. Diverse talents ranging from the budding juniors to the seasoned seniors were showcased in the play which left an indelible mark on all in the audience.

Sir. Oblong embarks on a voyage to save the Bolligrew Islands where the notorious Baron Bolligrew and his loyal assistant Brainless Blackheart rule with an iron fist over destitute peasants. A truly animated play enhanced by vibrant lighting effects, entertaining musical tunes and wonderful props, Festival of Arts Drama 2009 was (in my opinion) the greatest legacy the Year 6s left behind for the Year 5s to emulate.

Hard work was paramount to success. Teachers Mr. Brian Connor, Mr. Ferdinand Quek, Mdm. Andriany Tee, Mdm. Herzog and Mdm. Bose toiled laboriously and the astounding success of this production was purely a fruit of their labour. Seniors and juniors alike worked hard day and night, perfecting lines, working together to construct complex props and working towards making the show a great one!

As the Lord Mayor, it was an amazing experience for me altogether. I could feel the oneness of drama both past and present culminating in the show. The prolific acting, the immense effort and the drama onstage and backstage was simply terrific! Everyone played their roles both on and offstage. Through the thick and the thin, I learnt from my seniors that perseverance is vital. To make a show the best show ever, one has to maximise his potential and go all out.

Initially, the show was an unpolished rough diamond but after everyone did their best, the show was the brightest diamond ever. A man’s gotta do what a man’s gotta do and likewise, everyone did what they had to do; GIVE IT THEIR BEST and in my opinion, ALL OF YOU did more than your best and my heartiest congratulations to thatJ even from the poorest peasant to the sinister Molocha to the timidly Lord Mayor to the Dignified Duke and to of course the knights in shining armour.

After the show ended, everyone bid farewell to each other. We were all filled with relief but we will definitely miss the Thwarting of Baron Bolligrew. I will truly miss working with the fun-loving juniors whom I really cherished my time with. The Year 6s, without whom the show would not have survived, the new generation of ACSIS will try their best to emulate you since you are our role-models. We wish you from the bottom of our hearts ALL THE BEST for your IB ExaminationsJ

Here are some quotes from the cast and crew. I felt that everyone needed to chip in because my reflections would not be complete without including some words from the best of ACDC and ACSIS, the best of both worlds.

“Staying until midnight to do the lights was exhausting but when everyone clapped after seeing the moon came out during the show, I felt an indescribable joy”

• Yr 5 Ooi Zi Hao, Spot-Lights I.C.

“A truly enriching experience, the juniors learnt from the discipline and the experience of the seniors. Hopefully working together on the play will spur ACDC onto greater heights in the future”

• Mark Ong, ACDC President, Peasant

“I never knew I could paint until I did this show – Obidiah’s eggs were so beautiful I almost cried when they shone on stage – I am so proud of drama and the Yr 6 cast was AWESOME la”

• K G Lavanya, Props I.C.

“Taking on an interesting roles with no lines to memorise was a new experience! Stage make-up for the peasants was unforgettable-the boot polish, poster paint from Cao, our wonderful seniorJ It was difficult but after a lot of hard work, I learnt that every character is equally important and without focus, nothing can be achieved!”

• Clement Yue, ACDC President, Peasant

“This FOA really saw the efforts of all the members working together to put up a great show and that was very heartwarming – I was moved to tears and am so proud to be EXCO 08-09”

• Yvonne Mak, ACSIS Vice President, Molocha

“Exhausting and time consuming as it may have been, the FOA production we put up was very educational, an unforgettable eye-opener and an amazing experience. I enjoyed almost every second of it. More pleaseJ”

• Chester Chong, ACSIS Incoming President, Assistant Stage Manager

As you can see, it was a wonderful experience none of us will ever forget for a long time but once again, “Here I come Dragon, Fear Me Dragon, Rrrrao” – ooo scary right? Well if it wasn’t, don’t blame me, I’m delicately situatedJ

The End.

Written By: R.R.Pravin, 2009-08-10